Well this sounds pretty challenging. So here it goes, now that I have a toddler thinking about what to feed him has become my latest pastime + necessity. Given that he is so considerate of all my attempts and sometimes graces me with his acceptance by eating a few spoons and sometimes completey rejecting it, I have to devise new ( and healthy 😳😰😱) ways to feed him. Add to that the constant pressure of doing the right thing. And then there are so many many do’s and dont’s, if you choose to follow them.

But I am mostly a go by my instinct parent and do not really follow any ” school” of parenting. Rather trying to learn what is good and ok with my kid as I go.

In the start let me say that we follow the traditional weaning way and in the begining all that he ate post 6 months was mashed and pureed food along with breast milk . But now slowly baby A has transitioned to adult food. I try and feed him a variety of food and also as much fruits, veggies, protein as possible. So it is a challenge now to come up with snack / breakfast ideas for him which he will enjoy. And If can be eaten by both baby and the parent then it is an added bonus point.

One such fail safe recipe of mine is the Mushroom soup. I have been making this since ages and it is one of the easiest recipes in the world and everyone just loves it. There are no leftovers with soup and everybody just laps it all up, it is so yummy. Added bonus, it is low on calories, very filling and high on a lot of nutrients. And the baby loves this soup.

So here goes the recipe for my fail- safe Burnt Garlic Mushroom Soup

Please be careful to ensure that anyone with mushroom allregies does not consume it.

Recipe:

Serves – 4 to 5

Cooking time – 30 mins

Ingredients :

Button Mushrooms – 400 gms

Garlic cloves – 15/16, finely chopped

Onion – 1, finely chopped

Whole pepper corns – 10

Full cream milk – 1 cup

Chives – 1 tsp

Thyme – 1 tsp

Butter – 2 tbsp ( optional)

Olive oil – 2 tsp

Spring onion leaves for the garnish

Salt to taste

Method :

Carefully wash the mushrooms under running water and clean properly.

Let the water drain and chop them up

In a deep pan add 2 tsps of oil and the chopped garlic. Fry them till the garlic turns a slight golden and immediately add the onions

Do not let the garlic burn, it should just be a bit golden

Add the pepper corns and saute till the onions turn soft

Now add the mushrooms and saute it on low heat

The mushrooms release an earthy smell and a water. Keep the heat on low and let the mushrooms cook till all the water evaporates. They will reduce in volume slowly and become mushy. Now add salt and the dried herbs and leave it for another minute

Now the next step is boiling the mushrooms. I do this in my Soup maker. This is one machine I absolutely adore, as it has made making soups such an easy job. But you can use a pressure cooker for this step or just add 2 cups of water in the pot and cover and let simmer for 15 mins.

Let it cool a bit and then blend the whole thing. Though my soup maker makes my life much easier and I just put the whole thing in it and it boils and blends it too. I am attaching the picture here for reference

Now put the soup back in the pot and add a cup of full cream milk. This soup is very thick and creamy so if you want to thin it you can add more milk. Let it boil for a minute more and take ot off the heat.

Add butter (optional) and garnish with chopped spring onions. Perfect for a winter evening, this soup is quite filling also.